1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety system for a motor bike, as well as a corresponding method for triggering a safety system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In comparison to an automobile, one is exposed to considerably higher risk in road traffic as a motor-bike rider like, for example, a motorcycle rider and/or a motor-trike rider and/or a quad rider and/or a scooter rider and/or a moped rider. Among other things, this is because of the different driving physics and the constantly unstable state of balance, as well as the particular physical and psychological stress when riding a motor bike and the limited field of view. At the same time, motor-bike riders are considerably more sensitive to weather factors and other disturbance factors like, for instance, poor road conditions or unexpected traffic conditions. In addition, there is no protective body shell in the case of a motor bike. In spite of protective clothing, motor-bike riders are unprotected road users during collisions or crashes due to the lack of passive safety.
Safety systems for a motor bike, which protect the motor-bike rider in the event of a collision, are known from the related art and have a first evaluation and control unit that receives crash-relevant information from at least one sensor unit via at least one interface and evaluates it for the purpose of detecting a crash. In response to a detected crash, the first evaluation and control unit activates at least one external safety component and/or at least one internal safety component using a triggering concept. The activated safety components usually take the form of passive safety components. Airbag systems are known as passive internal safety components, which have an inflatable airbag in the area of a fuel tank. Independently of that, in the case of motor bikes, active internal safety components in the form of antilock braking systems are known, by which it is possible to attain a marked decline of accidents with injury to persons. If a collision nevertheless occurs, further accident-alleviating safety components should take effect, such as a safety-belt system for motor-bike riders, having a belt strap and a belt buckle. An internal safety component implemented as an inflatable side-impact protection is familiar, as well. In the inoperative state, the side-impact protection is folded in space-saving fashion as a metal profile into a side structure of a motor vehicle. A customary compressed-gas inflator is able to fill this structure with an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar. The metal profile unfolds, and thereby obtains more stability. In addition, external passive safety components may be integrated into the clothing of the rider. What are termed airbag jackets, which are implemented as motor-bike jackets with integrated airbags, are familiar and are already available commercially to some extent. These airbag jackets may be triggered either via an integrated evaluation and control unit and/or by ripcord and/or via radio by an evaluation and control unit integrated in the motor bike. It is assumed that in the future, passive safety systems will achieve greater importance and market penetration in the motor-bike sector, as well. In contrast to an automobile, however, the integration of passive safety systems solely into the motor bike is possible only to a limited extent. In the case of motor bikes, integration of external safety components into the personal protective equipment of the rider, like into the helmet and/or the clothing, for example, is advantageous in order to achieve a high level of safety.
The published German patent application document DE 103 17 439 A1 describes a motorcycle with a restraining device for motorcyclists, having a fastening element via which the motorcyclist is detachably bound to the motorcycle. In response to a detected rear-end collision, during a first phase of the rear-end collision, the motorcyclist is initially retained on the motorcycle by the fastening element. In this context, the restraining force of the fastening element counteracts the inertial force of the motorcyclist. The fastening element is disposed in such a way that in the first phase, due to inertia, the motorcyclist is shifted contrary to the restraining force of the fastening element relative to the motorcycle, whereby kinetic energy of the motorcyclist is reduced. The fastening element is subsequently released without assistance by the motorcyclist.
The U.S. Patent Application Publication U.S. 2011/0237194 A1 describes an airbag jacket for a rider of a motor bike. The airbag jacket described has a receiver for receiving a wirelessly transmitted signal, and an airbag. In response to a detected accident, the wirelessly transmitted signal is sent out by an internal evaluation and control unit of the motor bike and activates the airbag of the airbag jacket.